Ever wish you could shop out of someone else’s closet? Then a swap is the place for you. You bring used clothing you no longer want, and swap it with someone else for something you do. Not only does it save you money, it also is incredibly sustainable.

The ingredients on the back of most cleaning products are truly frightening. The sheer amount of chemicals alone is enough to make me nervous, but it is really the chemicals themselves that are the most toxic. Many household cleaners contribute to poor indoor air quality, and expose you to dangerous chemicals that often have negative impacts on our health and the environment.

For a cheap, easy, and effective cleaner, I make an “all-purpose spray” from Gorgeously Green. The recipe is incredibly simple, and it can be used on countertops, fridge, walls, toilet seats, sinks, doorknobs, and tons of other things. We use ours daily to wipe down the sinks in our bathrooms as well as a cleaner for our counters when they need more than what a wet rag can do. We also use it any time we need to disinfect anything (like the counter before we bake or roll out dough).

Ingredients:
32 ounce spray bottle (or multiple bottles that add up to 32 ounces)
2 cups water
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon castile soap
3/4 cup hydrogen peroxide
20 drops tea tree oil
20 drops any essential oil (I like citrus, and my mom likes lavender, so we add the essential oils once they are in the spray bottles so we can customize from the same recipe)

Recipe:

So many people do not understand the importance of organic foods. It always surprises me how little people know about what is in their foods. Pesticides are not only extremely harmful to our environment, but also to the farmworkers who are exposed to them on a regular basis and everyone who eats them daily (more on that soon when I get into the nitty gritty of pesticides).

“If you choose 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day from EWG’s Clean 15 rather than the Dirty Dozen, you can lower the volume of pesticide you consume daily by 92 percent, according to EWG calculations. You’ll also eat fewer types of pesticides. Picking 5 servings of fruits and vegetables from the 12 most contaminated would cause you to consume an average of 14 different pesticides a day. If you choose 5 servings from the 15 least contaminated fruits and vegetables, you’ll consume fewer than 2 pesticides per day.”

My work is a sustainability nightmare. There is no recycling (the school district for some reason does not give us recycling at the pool. It drives me crazy. I am always begging people to take stuff home with them, but it is way too much (and too dirty) for me to take it all home).

One of the major things we have control of is our water supply. For years my boss has bought us bottled water so that people will drink water on hot days and stay hydrated. I have been complaining to him for years about how unsustainable it is, how expensive it is, and all the unnecessary waste we are creating.

I think he finally got tired of listening to me, because when he finally said “fine, what else can we do” I quickly told him we could get a large pitcher that filters the tap water. He asked some people on staff and they agreed with me that they would drink the water that way. Two days later I came in to work and we had a large, beautiful filtered water dispenser in our office.

One of my must needs for school next year is silverware. I could go out and buy a new set, but they are ridiculously expensive, unless I got plastic which goes against just about every fiber of my being. Instead, I have decided to find used silverware. I bought some from craigslist at the end of the last school year.

As the weather warms I cannot help but wonder what happens to these curious creatures. I know that environmentalist around the world gripe about how campaigns to save endangered species only focus on the animals that we consider cute, but at the same time I think there is something behind choosing animals that humans are drawn to. Without a face to put on the ominous “endangered species” title, it would be difficult to gain the attention of the larger public.

So while we enjoy the warmer weather, perhaps take a moment to be amazed by the playful and intelligent Polar Bears and consider their future. I think they would appreciate it.

3. Sauté (on medium heat) the onion in olive oil for 5-8 minutes, until translucent

4. Add in swiss chard or spinach, cook until they begin to turn a darker green and have shrunk down (about 3-5 minutes depending).

5. Add in tomatoes, corn, lime juice, black beans, salt and pepper. Continue to sauté for 5-10 minutes (until all of your ingredients are heated through)

6. Put the sauté vegetables onto the tortilla chip layer

7. Cover the veggies with half of the salsa. Add about 2/3 of the cheese.8. Put the rest of the tortilla chips on. Cover with the rest of the salsa and cheese.

9. Bake 35-40 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown